Engines with turbine systems, such as air cycle machines, use turbine blades to extract work from heated gases passing therethrough. The efficiency of the turbine system is directly dependent on the flow path of the heated gases. Particularly, a turbine nozzle assembly includes a shroud that surrounds the turbine blades to form the flow path. The turbine nozzle assembly further includes a support structure that secures the turbine nozzle assembly to other portions of the system, such as a bearing housing for the output shaft or a compressor. In addition to performance and efficiency requirements, the turbine nozzle assembly may be subject to safety requirements, such as containment testing or certification. In one such requirement, the turbine nozzle assembly may be required to withstand an axial load of more than 40,000 pounds. Maintenance and other repair work on the turbine nozzle assembly may complicate the ability to comply with the containment requirements, particularly if the repair work reduces containment capacity.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide turbine nozzle assemblies that comply with applicable containment requirements. In addition, it is desirable to provide a method for a repairing a turbine nozzle assembly that maintains applicable containment requirements. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.